I’ve been training clients and working on my own body for the past 15 years. I once was a pudgy 275 pounds and wore 44-inch pants. Today I’m a ripped 225 and slip into 32-inch jeans.
I tried every fat-loss method imaginable, from highly researched fitness advice to underground bodybuilding methods. I’ve helped men with zero training lose triple-digit fat, and seasoned lifters drop that last stubborn 10 pounds.
METASHRED—my all-new body-shredding plan—represents the culmination of every hard truth I’ve learned on the front lines of fat loss. It combines cutting-edge science with tried-and-true training advice to attack your flab with no mercy. One guy lost 25 pounds in 6 weeks!
I share five of the program’s most potent techniques below.
Technique 1: Tabata Torchers
Tabatas—brief, high-intensity interval workouts named after Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata—can burn about 14 calories a minute, say scientists at the University of Wisconsin.
But instead of doing them with just one exercise, choose two—an upper-body exercise and a lower-body move—and alternate between them. That way you can keep the intensity high throughout the session and push for longer than just 4 minutes.
How to do it: Select a pair below. Do the first move for 20 seconds and rest 10 seconds. Now do the second move for 20 seconds and rest 10. Repeat the pattern for 4 minutes. Pick another pair and repeat; do as many as you want.
Dead-stop pushup + goblet squat
Dead-stop pushup + dumbbell swing
Dumbbell row + skater hop
Bulgarian split squat (alternate legs every rep)
*See how to do each of these exercises at the end of this article.
Technique 2: Metabolic Burnouts
Taking longer rests earlier in a workout lets you warm up with an intense first circuit, helping you reach your “oxygen threshold.”
Then, for each subsequent circuit, you have to work even harder, with less rest, progressively digging yourself deeper into “oxygen debt.” So your metabolism will still be cranking to replace your oxygen stores long after you’ve hit the showers—up to 39 hours later.
The bigger your debt, the more calories your body burns during and after your session.
How to do it: Do each exercise below in order for 30 seconds, resting 30 seconds between moves. That’s round 1. Once you finish all 6 exercises, you've completed 1 round. Do 8 rounds total, but decrease your rest period by 5 seconds each time.
So in round 1, do 30 seconds of work, followed by 30 seconds of rest for 6 exercises straight. In round 2, do 30 seconds of work followed by 25 seconds of rest. Round 3: 30 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest.
1. Dead-stop pushup
2. Goblet squat
3. Dumbbell row
4. Skater hop
5. Dumbbell swing
*See how to do each of these exercises at the end of this article.
Technique 3: Variable-Tempo Training
If you change up the speed of your repetitions, you’ll tap into a totally new muscle-building stimulus. (Let’s face it, you’ve probably lifted at just one speed your entire training career.)
Taking longer to lift and lower the weight—or simply pausing at certain points during the lift—is a time-tested, old-school bodybuilding secret that works different fibers, increases the time your muscles spend under load, and can help you pack on mounds of lean muscle.
How to do it: Pick three exercises below. Perform them as a circuit with 60 seconds of work and 60 seconds of rest. Complete 5 circuits. Each circuit, take 3 seconds to lower or raise the weight or hold the midpoint of the move.
Dead-stop pushup
Goblet squat
Hip thrust
Bulgarian split squat
Dumbbell row
*See how to do each of these exercises at the end of this article.
In a typical 3-sets-of-10 workout, your muscles spend only about 90 seconds under load.
That’s why simply doing as many reps as possible in a given time is so powerful—you end up doing far more than your standard 30 or so reps. Which means your muscles spend significantly more time actually working, triggering renewed fat loss and muscle gains.
How to do it: Pick an exercise below and do as many reps as you can in 5 minutes. (For weighted moves, use a weight you can lift about 20 times in a regular set.) Then pick another exercise and repeat; do as many moves as you like.
Dead-stop pushup
Goblet squat
Bear crawl
Bulgarian split squat
Dumbbell swing
*See how to do each of these exercises at the end of this article.
Technique 5: Six-Pack Supersets
This six-pack hack wakes up your key muscle groups, creating a mind-muscle connection that should help you “feel” and better activate your abs and glutes in every exercise of your workout. So each exercise you perform thereafter—whether it’s a squat or a bench press—will work your abs and glutes even harder.
As a result, you’ll be better able to recruit and build more muscle and incinerate more calories.
How to do it: Do the first exercise in the pair for 30 seconds; rest 15 seconds. Do the second exercise for a minute; rest 15 seconds. That’s 1 round. Complete 4 rounds and then do the remaining pairs the same way.
Dead-stop pushup + goblet squat
Bear crawl + goblet squat
Hip thrust + dumbbell swing
Skater hop + dumbbell swing
*See how to do each of these exercises at the end of this article.
You can find workouts employing all of these fat-torching techniques—plus four more—in THE 21-DAY METASHRED. It has nine 30-minute workouts that strip away fat and reveal hard muscle.
How to Do the Exercises
1. Dead-Stop Pushup
Assume a pushup position with your feet together, your body straight, and your hands below but slightly wider than your shoulders. Lower your body all the way to the floor. Lift your hands, pause, and then place them back on the floor and push up explosively.
2. Goblet Squat
Hold a dumbbell in front of your chest, cupping the top end with both hands. Push your hips back and bend your knees, performing a squat. Pause; then push back up.
3. Bear Crawl
Assume a pushup position and then walk your feet forward until your hips and knees are both bent 90 degrees. This is the starting position. Now keep your arms straight as you “step” your left hand and right foot forward a few inches. Repeat with your right hand and left foot. Keep crawling forward.
4. Hip Thrust
Place your upper back against a box or bench with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Then squeeze your glutes and raise your hips until they’re in line with your body. Return to the starting position and repeat.
5. Bulgarian Split Squat
Stand with your back to a bench or box. Place the top of your right foot on the bench. This is the starting position. Keeping your torso upright, bend your left knee and lower your body until your left leg is bent at least 90 degrees; raise your arms as you lower. Push your body back to the start.
6. Skater Hop
Stand on your right foot with your right knee slightly bent and your left foot just off the floor. Lower your body and then bound to your left by jumping off your right leg. Land on your left foot and cross your right foot behind you. Now reverse the move and continue hopping side to side.
7. Dumbbell Swing
Hold a dumbbell handle with both hands. Bend at the waist, push your hips back, and lower your torso, swinging the dumbbell between your legs. Thrust your hips forward and swing the weight to shoulder height; then immediately pull it back between your legs. Keep swinging.
8. Dumbbell Row
Holding a pair of dumbbells, bend at your hips and knees and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor and the dumbbells are hanging in front of you. Bend your elbows and pull the weights to the sides of your torso. Pause, and then slowly lower them.
